HOLIDAY THREAD: Family to dgoes to dinner tonight at Loch Bar in Baltimore, seated next to couple of very scruffy fellas at the next table over. Lot of hard life on the faces of both. Before waitress arrives, smell hits -- one that comes from days & nights on the street....
Ok, so Laura and I suspend all judgment because hey, they're here for a meal and who knows what the back story is and they smile warmly at my kid, and I'm rooting for everyone because this is Baltimore, and man, it's hard. Then I hear one say to his friend...
"Everyone here is being so nice to us, it kinda makes you feel bad, don't it?" So at that point, I know where this is going. But again, it's the season. I'm feel a little bad for the restaurant, but my heart can't be with the hounds. I gotta root for the fox...
So they order dinner and beers and the staff is gracious and good, and they enjoy it robustly. Then one fella gets a ragged coat around him, looks at his partner and says, "Good meal. See you 'round." And he slips out the door. His friend stays put and when the waiter returns...
...he orders dessert and asks about the after-dinner drinks, and which point the waiter, looking grieved, says he'll have to ask the manager. Then they wait a while, but the fella stays put, waiting it out. And finally, after a long interim...
...the Baltimore patrolman shows up to ask quietly and politely to speak with the gentleman just outside. At which point, the manager, who we know, comes up to us with a stricken look on his face. "Sorry about that," and he begins to explain...
And it's grievous and heartbreaking, but humane in a way. Because as I knew what was up, so did they. And it was the holidays, and they wanted them to get the meal, and even the beers, and maybe a couple side dishes, and in their heart of hearts they were hoping...
...the second fella would grab his coat and follow his friend, making good the escape. "You don't wanna judge, and it's not like you care about the meal at this time of the year..." But at the point of ordering the top-shelf Cognac and a few desserts, it was time to call it...
...when the officer appeared, the man began belligerently, asking if the cop was there to abuse him: "You gonna shoot me or something?" The patrolman did not raise his voice: "No, sir. I just need to talk with you outside..." When I left, he was talking to the man quietly...
At the end, I was rooting for everyone. For the restaurant people, for the cop, for the one who got away and the one who overstayed his moment. I hope they didn't call for the wagon, and I hope the restaurant doesn't regret its patience...
Mostly, I hope this feeling of a broken world doesn't with all of us for a long while, though of course it probably should. And will.
*Apologies for the mangled phrasing and typos. The evening has me up in my own head too much to deliver clean copy.
